In the End of the Beginning
by HarvestedHeart
Summary: Fairytale-inspired AU. Ino is the "mad" princess who speaks to flowers (who tell her the strangest tales), Shikamaru the now-cursed son of the Archduke. Both have the mandate to leave Konoha Kingdom's palace and Nara Manor to go out into the Kingdom itself...but what awaits this awkward duo? The only set pairings thus far are ShikaIno and NaruHina, though other characters do show.


**AN: So, this is a fairy-tale inspired piece of ShikaIno, with eventual hints of NaruHina, KibaHina and someone with Sakura, with some other pairings later on. So, on with the show and I hope you brought digital popcorn! **

Every story has a beginning. And so shall this one…..ahem. Stop attempting your male-peacocking rituals with Moegi, Konohamaru. And Udon….just stop, ok? Thank you.

Now, with that episode behind us, let's begin.

Udon….you could've said you needed the bathroom….ugh.

Long ago, there was a vast, fertile kingdom spanning several regions of forest and greenery, housing warrior and peasant alike. Also several witches. And vampires. And the occasional moon-hound. But that's not really the point just yet, I'm getting ahead of myself.

In the Fourteenth Year After the Winter Famine, the king of this land decided upon his bride at long last, making a proclaimation at the gates that all rejoiced at. An old widow by name of Tsunade was reported to say that she was "afraid the king was so desperate he'd go marry some pig or cow or horse and get it on with them." This was pretty much the general attitude of everyone else, as they were just elated that their dear feudal overlord was finally going to be marrying any sort of woman at all, having been single long into his late forties, which even then was considered old and geriatric.

Imagine their surprise when he introduced the girl of his choice. A pretty, twig-like creature with hair of spun-gold and eyes that were so blue they could have been stolen from the sky themselves on a summer day. But, more importantly, a girl who lacked noble blood and the true qualifications to become a royal bride.

It was a badly-kept secret in the social circles of the high and mighty that their king was of poor blood himself. His clan, a clan known for their prowess in pig-farming, had only been raised to the status of nobility in the land through the aid of two other noble clans, the Akimichi and the Nara, both respectable, old-money families. However, the king's bride, despite belonging to his own clan, as was the custom those days, was a foreigner. Her branch of the family had stayed pig-farmers, the lowest rung of the societal pillar. It did not matter to anyone in particular that her immediate family had progressed to trading pigs and washed more than could be expected of peasants. No, she would forever be common in the eyes of her new people.

Meanwhile, Lord Nara Shigeaki fumed in the confines of the Nara Manor. His bond with the King had been the strongest, with the exception of the head of the Nara clan, Archduke Shikaku. The three of them, along with Archduke Akimichi Chouza, had been brothers despite blood.

Shigeaki's sister, Yoshino, had been ill ever since birth. Though she attempted to hide her true fragility with harsh comments and troublesome acts, she was dying, had been dying, since the day she was born. Just like the mother whose fate it had been to die giving birth to her. This ghostly, decaying mother had made Shigeaki swear one vow on her last breath. To protect Yoshino, and make sure she had what she wanted in this world.

He had done a fine job upholding his vow. But now, as soon as the wedding bells rang over Konoha, his failure would be cemented, he mentally raved, running fingers through his greasy brown hair.

Yoshino had wanted the King's affection in more than a childish crush. He knew she had. He'd tried to make the King see her that way too, pushing him near her at any opportunity.

He'd failed her, and by doing that, he'd broken the only vow he'd ever taken seriously at all.

And what had the King chosen in place of Yoshino? A sappy little blonde with blank-faced naiveté and eyes swimming with emptiness. Shigeaki hissed at the thought of the simpering child-bride, so much younger than her new husband.

Dong. Dong.

His failure rang loud and clear over the kingdom, and Shigeaki, looking through the windows of the northmost room in the Nara Manor, swore a new vow.

To make Inoichi pay for causing him to break his word.

Shigeaki made plans. Oh, any operation worth undertaking must have plans.

He swiftly married off Yoshino to Archduke Shikaku, who needed an heir. She would be happy with him, Shigeaki thought, eventually. Despite Shikaku's incompetence and lazy behavior, he would make a good husband for Yoshino. Easily dominated by her, he thought, smiling. Poor man, my sister will make you work while she still has breath to do it.

He consorted with those who had not been helped by Inoichi's reign. The forest spirits, the vampires, the moon-hounds and the witches.

He did nothing concrete. He merely acted as an ambassador, just as the King had told him to.

That didn't mean there wasn't anything he could do to make a few seeds of hatred grow, or plant a few new ideas.

His sister succumbed after giving birth to her son, Nara Shikamaru. A fine boy, Shigeaki thought. He'll be just as lazy and easily dominated as his old man. He grieved for his sister….by working on his plan some more.

The next day, a daughter was born to the child-bride and King Inoichi. The old clan name of Ino was given to her, and Shigeaki didn't allow himself to care. When she became a problem, he would deal with her.

And so, when the King and his wife departed to visit her family in the neighboring kingdom, Shigeaki had ensured the arrival of assassins.

They said the corpse was so bloody and deformed that only from its clothes could you see that it had been King Inoichi of the Yamanaka Clan.

Shigeaki grinned.

And when, out of loyalty, Chouza and Shikaku (though for him it was out of fear of doing more work) declined the throne, he grabbed his chance.

"I will also raise Inoichi's daughter as my own. Have no fear, Konoha, in light of my friendship with her late father, she shall be cared for!"

A plan well-executed. But that was Shigeaki for you.

_Sixteen years later_

The physician turned to her patient once more, concern filling her eyes as she looked at the sole survivor of the former royal family, the family she had once sworn allegiance to, long ago. How time had ruined it all, thought Shizune, staring into the eyes of the girl who resembled Inoichi, and yet had so little of his reason still left in her addled mind.

She was decked in flowers. They bloomed in the folds of her purple skirt, twined up and down in clumps along her long, skinny arms, and burst open in her tangle of blonde hair, even dotted in the folds of her neck and sprung up behind her ears. The glazed elation in her face was ever-present and under her breath she hummed snatches of delirious songs in a weak soprano, her legs moving to a soft and steady beat sitting in the plush cushioned seat.

Dear Kami, Shizune thought sadly. Why'd you give us a mad princess, of all things?

"Ino-hime." She began gently, fingers tapping on her checkboard as she spoke to the flower-sprinkled girl.

"Oh! Shizune-san!" She seemed to realize in that moment the presence of another human and began to stare in her direction, a sudden inch of clarity in her face.

"Have any new insights today?" Shizune attempted diplomacy, and when she saw the look of sudden fury in the girl's eyes, she realized she had done the wrong thing.

"No." Ino crushed a dying bloom from her dress with a free hand, sending the dark brown petals to the floor in a dance of death. "How can I when King Shigeaki thinks I'm delusional enough to deserve my own private shrink and a locked tower room for five whole years? You tell me, you're the doctor!"

"You know that your episodes with flowers…."

"They do tell me things!" Ino burst out in frustration, shoving a bedraggled pink blossom into Shizune's face, nearly smothering her with the falling petals. "She told me where my mother grew up, didn't you? In Kumo Kingdom! You did! Just make her see!" Smushing the flower harder into Shizune's face, she screamed.

"Please!"

Ino's furious tears began escaping, free-falling with the scattered petals as Shizune struggled for breath, and in a final burst of strength, pulled the offending flower off her, wrestling the slender wrist of the mad girl unto the crystal table separating their seats.

Hacking petals from her mouth, Shizune stared at the doorway, where Shigeaki's guards stood in formation, pikes at the ready. She nodded towards them silently.

"I'm sorry Ino-hime." She said as one guard restrained the sobbing, frantically resisting girl in his burly arms as his comrade escorted her outside.

"Whatever you have, it's incurable."

Nara Shikamaru watched clouds, not for shapes or for any discernible reason other than the fact that it was peaceful. It was release, and it didn't require him to do anything other than lay there, which was one of the actions he could perform quite easily, thank you. It was also a nice late summer day, and he'd grown bored of scheming to avoid work. Better to outright thwart the system then to sneak round, he realized once more. It's far less troublesome.

"Mind if I join you?"

And it was less effective, considering his father had found him in about ten minutes. Still, Nara Shikamaru wasn't worried. His father understood him well.

Lying down in the grass, Shikaku smiled as he stared up at the same patch of sky as his sixteen-year-old son.

"It's just lucky your mother isn't around to tell us both to get back to herding the clan deer."

"Dad, you're so whipped even beyond the grave."

Shikaku laughed. "Too true. But women have a way of doing that, don't they."

"I wouldn't know." Shikamaru turned. "I'm not married or in any sort of relationship with a woman."

"One day, you'll have to be in one, as clan head."

"Yeah, sure. Forgive me if I'm not exactly anxious to join you in your whipped fate." Shikamaru rolled to the other side. "And anyway, the deer know not to go too far off the Manor."

"Check on them, will you?" Shikaku sighed luxuriously, grass cushioning his entire bulk.

Shikamaru turned to protest before noticing Shikaku had fallen into pretence of slumber.

"If you think that's gonna fool me…" Eyes darting back and forth, he chose a sturdy-looking twig and poked the older man in the chest.

A resounding false snore spread through Shikaku's body and Shikamaru, despite knowing it was all an act, felt the beginning tinges of guilt spread across his mentality.

"Damn you." He muttered, as he got up and began walking towards the forest grove where the clan deer were grazing. "Next time, I'm not falling for this again."

**AN: Sooooo. Didja like it? Didja hate it? Drop me a quick little review! Feedback is always appreciated, even if it's a flame. **

**And yeah….my villainous OC. I wanted a relative and I dislike making non-related characters related except in unusual circumstances. So Nara Shigeaki was born from my struggle to create a villain. Don't worry, canon characters will also appear as big bads, so if you really hate my OC, he's not running the show 24/7. **


End file.
